Means for reversing internal-combustion engines



H. BROOKS.

MEANS FOR REVERSING INTERNAL COMBUSHON ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1920.

1,373,484. Patent d Apr. 5, 1921.

H. BROOKS. MEANS FOR REVERSING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1920- 7 1,373,484. Patented Apr. 5, 1921 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTY,

H. BROOKS. MEANS FOR BEVERSING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

I ABPLICATION FILED JULY 19. 1920. I 1,373,484, Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

hvvnvrow:

ATT'y.

' rrEn s'rarss n ruur orrlcs.

HERBERT BROOKS, OF YEOVIL, ENGLAND, ASSZGNOR TO PETTERS LIMITED, 015 YEOVIL, ENG-LAND.

MEANS FDR EEVLEESING INTERNAL-GOIVIBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 19,1920. Serial No. 397,247.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HERBERT BROOKS, resident of llhitleigh, St. Michaels avenue, Yeovil, in the county of Somerset, England, a subject of the King of Great Brit-am and Ireland, have invented certain new and useful lmproved Means for Reversing Internell-Combustion Engines of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines of the kind in which for effecting a reversal of rotation, a strolre of increased length is given to the fuel pump by the pump operating gear as used for normal running, and has for its object to provide improved apparatus for reversing the direction of rotation.

In the apparatus for effecting the reversal of internal combustion engines heretofore proposed the fuel pump is generally first put out of action in order to slow down the engine prior to reversing, whereupon an mertia, governor causes the fuel pump to supply an abnormally large charge to the engine thus giving a premature impulse and effecting the reversal.

In the improved apparatus according to my invention the fuel pump continues to be operated as in normal running but for slow ing down. the engine prior to reversal I provide means for rendering the stroke of the pump ineifective thus suppressing the injection offuel into the combustion cham: her until the necessary reduction in speed has been mad For effecting the reversal I provide mechanisn'i which brought into tion by a suitable governing device uredtorenc er inoperative the aforesaid means and permit an increased effective stroke being given t o .the fuel pump to effect the reversal of'rotation.

Constructions; embodying my invention are illustratcail in the accompanying drawings, in which-- i V V Figure '1 is a perspective view showmg apparatus for suppressing the injection of fuel into the combustion chamber to cause the engine to v down pr. r to reversal, also mechanism operated by an inertia governor which permits an increased effective stroke being given to the fuel pump by which the reversal of direction of rotation is effected;

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically means view, partly broken away, illustrating means for operating said device.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, afuel pump 1 is shown provided with a spring pressed plunger 2 which is struck by the roller 3 carried on a pin 4: attached to a rocking lever or arm 5 which receives a rocking motion from the eccentric rod 6. The roller 3 is made with two diameters, the small diameter for giving the normal stroke to the pump plunger and the large diameter for giving an increased stroke; Attached to the fuel pump suction valve chamber (not shown) is a fitting 7 in which works a rod 8 so arranged that when raised by a lever 9 it lifts the suction valve oil its seat. The lever 9 is pivoted on a bracket 10 and connected to the actuating device by arod 11. r f i The actuating device shown in'Fi'g. f2 comprises a cam or the like 12 carried by a bracket 13 and rotated from a moving part of the engine, a forked lever 14 one end of,

which is pivoted on a swivel 15, and a trip lever 16 pivoted the spring 18. Another trip, lever and spring (not shown) is fitted to the other fork end of the lever 14.

@n the bracket 13 is pivoted a hand oper-V ating lever 19 to which is connected a rod QO Working in hole drilled in the forked lever 14:. 021 the rod 20 are mounted two springs 21 and 22-, one end of each spring being adapted to bear against the lever 14; and the other end of each spring being for rotating the on one of the fork ends of the lever 1e and held against a stop 17 by Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

the eccentric rod and thus transmitting a rotary motion to the said cam wheel. it

arrow when the engine is running in the reverse direction. The cam 12 is provided with one or more depressions 120, the purpose of which is described hereinafter.

f it is not convenient to employ the form of drive described above, then the said cam may be driven by means of ordinary gear wheels.

Again referring to Fig. 1 the bracket 10carries bearings 24: and supporting a spindle 23 and when a reversalof the direction of rotation is required this spindle is forced forward by an inertia governor 26, which engages the spindle 23 only when the speed of the engine is sufficiently slow, but at higher speeds is given an upward movement to clear the spindle by passing over the inclined plane 34:, said upward movement being controlled by spring 3&0. Upon the bearing 24-, a lever 27 is pivoted on a pin 28, one end of the lever 27 being adaptedto make contact with the roller 3 and at the other end is mounted. a roller 29 adaptedctobear against a step or cam 30 on the'spindle 23.- Part of the spindle 23where supported in the bearing 25 is turned smaller in diameter tc take aspring 31. To the lever 9 is connected one end of a rod the other end of which is adapted to bear against the step 30; the lower end of a shouldered rod is also connected to the lever 9. r

In order to make it impossible for the governor to operate the spindle 23 when the reversing mechanism is out of use, as for instance when it is required to stop the engine, the top end of the rod 33 passes up through the inclined plane 3% and lifts the inertia governor 26 clear of the spindle 23, being held in this position by the pressure of the spring 35 on the lever 9. The shoulder- 36 is adapted to bear against the underside of the bracket 10 for the purpose of restricting the movement of the lever 9 and rod. 33.

In operation when it is desired to reverse the direction of rotation the above described apparatus works in the following manner If the direction of rotation of the engine is such as to rotate the cam 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in Fig. 2

then in order to reverse the direction, the

hand operating lever 19 is pushed forward, compressing the spring 21 thus exerting a side pressure on the forked lever 14, and

normally carry the said lever downward without the depressions 120; but, by providing one or more' of these depressions the actionof the spring 21 (or spring 22) forces the trip lever 16 into the said depression which oositivel" en 'a 'es the ed e of 7 y b b D the trip lever 16 and thus positively moves the forked lever 14 downward. In fact,

the depressionsadd a positive engagement to a. frictional engagement, thus making the movement more certain.

giving a downward motion to the shouldered rod 33, and an upward motion at the other end of the lever 9, thusraising the rod 32 and bringing it in contact with the step 30; at the same time the rod 8 is raised which lifts the fuel pump suction valve off its seat. 7 This throws the fuel pump out of ction, the fuel being forced back intothe suction pipe instead of through the delivery pipe to the combustion chamber, he engine slackens speed immediately and when the speed is reduced suiiiciently to insure a reversal the inertia governor 26 engages with the spindle 23 driving this forward. In its forward movement the roller 29 rides This motion is transmitted to the lever 9 by the rod 11,

over the step 30'and gives a cross motion of the roller into position for striking the pump plunger 2. At the same time the rod is forced downward by the step 30 and allows the s1 ring to lower the rod 8, thus returning the fuel pump suction valve to its seating and leaving the fuel pump in its working position.

The pressure of the step 30 which forces the rod downward serves likewise to raise the rod 11 on the other side of the lever 9, whereby the forked lever leis raised toits rest position. This action being positive overcomes the downward effect of the pres; sure of the cam 12 on the lever 16, the springs 21 and 22 allowing the lever 16 to yield by moving out radially on the face of the cam. The fuel on entering the heated combustion chamber vaporizes and on mixing with the air compressed in the cylinder explodes before the piston reaches the top center and drives the piston in'the reverse direction so that the engine rotates in the opposite direction. As the inertia gov ernor moves backward, the spring 31 returns the spindle 23 to its normal position and the roller 3 is returned by a spring to its position for normal running so that on the next compression stroke the small diameter of the roller 3 strikes the fuel pump plunger 2 and gives the normal injection whereby the engine regains its speed in the reversed direction.

It will be understood that the reversal results from the earlier explosion obtained by the increased charge of fuel, ofwhich the increased portion is injected into the combustion chamber earlier than the normal injection. I

When the engine commences to rotate in the opposite direction the cam 12 also runs in the opposite directiomand an upward motion is given to the trip lever 16 upon making contact with the one, or more depressions 120 in the face of the cam, thus bringing the other end away from the stop pin 17. This action' allows the spring 35 to keep thelever l t in its rest position; the

actuating device thus being put out of act1on, normal 1n ect1ons are resumed, and

the engine continues to run in the reversed direction. Immediately the hand lever is released "the springs 21 and 22 return the forked lever 14 to its neutral position and the trip lever 16 is brought'back against the stop 17 by the spring 18.

' If the engine is to be again reversed, the lever 19 must be pulled backward to bring the actuating device into operation the other trip lever (not shown) is then-brought into. contact with the face of the cam 12 whereupon the reversalis again effected in the manner described above, but in the opposite direction.

The actuating device shown in Fig. 2 is arranged not only to be momentarily thrown out of action at the time of the increased stroke of the fuel pump but to become com pletely inoperative as soon as the direction of rotation is reversed, whereby the normal in? jection is again resumed. If, however, re-

versal has not taken place-the aforesaid actuating. device by reason of the cam rotating' in the same direction again comes into operation as soon as the aforesaid positive action transmitted from the step 30 is released. causing the engine speed to be reduced again thus bringing into action the governing device and the process isrepeated any number of times until a reversal is effected.

The above described reversing arrangement is adapted for single cylinder engines, but the invention can also be adapted for use onimulti-cylinder engines using in conjunction therewith the device illustrated in Fig. 1 as applied to a two cylinder engi .e.

Referring to Fig. 1 38 is a body to which are connected the fuel delivery pipes leading from the fuel pumps (not shown) and" pipes. leading 'to the cylinders'corresponding to the pumps. A valve. 39 with a shoulder a0 is kept on its seat ll by a spring are pressing on the inside of the collar 43. The valve can be forced off its seat either by means of the lever 27, when brought into operation by the inertia governor, 'or by the hand lever A l, which is pivoted at a5 and maybe kept open when desired by placing the swivel catch piece 46 in position as shown tioned pump passes through the holes and 52 and thence to the cylinder normally supplied by said pump, and the fuel deliveredby the secondpump passes through the holes 53 and 5st and thence to the cylinder normally supplied by the said pump. With the valve pressed in'slightly and the catch piece 46 in position as shown, each pump delivers a charge to its corresponding 7 cylinder at the normal timing and also a supplementary charge at an advanced timingto the cylinder not'corresponding, the

timing of the advanced charge being con trolled by the angular relation of the pump operating gear to a moving part of the en-.

gine as described in my aforesaid British Patent No. 121,511. When the device isused in conjunction with the reversing mechanism, at the time the cross motion is given to the lever 27, one end of the lever moves the roller 3 to the right and the other end of the said lever moves to the left and pressesin the valve 39' so that the valve stem totally covers the hole 52; then when the effective stroke is given to the pump-which supplies the increased charge, the latter is wholly diverted to the other cylinder, the fuel passing from the hole 51 through the hole 54 to the said The valve 39 is returned to lift cylinder. seat by the spring l2, when the lever 27 returns to its rest position, therebypcrmitting the pumpsto supply their respectivecylin ders.

My invention can be carried into effect in various ways" and by various constructions other than those illustrated and the said scope of my invention. It sho'uldtherefore' theseare only given as examples.

other constructions would" be 7 within the What I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The methodof reversing the direction of rotation of internal Combustion engines of the kind in which liquid fuel is supplied to an engine cylinder by meansof a'fuel pump and plunger operated from the crank shaft of the engine, which consists in diverting the charge supplied by the fuel pump so as to prevent the charge from entering the combustion chamber of the cylinder in order to reduce the engine speed previous to reversal, then rendering inoperative the means employed for the said diversion of the fuel so as to permit the fuel to again enter the combustion chamber of the cylinder, and supplying an earlier and abnormally large injection into the cylinderto effect the reversal.

2. Apparatus for reversing the direction of-rotation of internal combustion engines of the kind in which liquid fuel is supplied to an en ine cylinder by means of a fuel pump operated from the crank shaft ofthe e ngine,comprising in combination with a liquid fuel supply pump and plunger, means for imparting a normal running stroke'to the fuel pump plunger, means for diverting from the engine cylinder the charge supplied by the normal running stroke of the fuel pump plunger in order to reduce the engine speed previous to reversal,

means actuated by the reduction of speed of the engine for renderin g inoperative said fuel-diverting means, and means for imparting an earlier and longer stroke to the fuel pump plunger for effecting reversal.

3. Apparatus for reversing the direction of rotation of internal combustion engines of the kind in which liquid fuel is supplied to an engine cylinder by means of a fuel pump operated from the crank shaft of the engine, comprising in combination with a liquid fuel supply pump and plunger, a rocking lever for actuating the fuel pump, means for rocking the'lever, a pin on the operating end of the lever, a stepped roller mounted on the pin for engaging the fuel pump plungeiythe part of the roller having the smaller diameter for imparting the nor- 7 mal running stroke and the part ofthe roller 7 having the larger dlameter for imparting the reversing stroke tothe fuel pump plunger, a spring tending to hold the roller in position to effect the normal running stroke of the fuel pump plunger, a lever adapted to engage the roller to move it against the action of the spring into position'to efiect the reversing stroke of the fuel pump plunger, an inertia device'adapted to actuate said lever when the speed of the engme is sufficiently reduced, and means for diverting from the engine cylinder the, charge supplied by the normal running stroke of the fuel pump plunger in orderto reduce the engine speed prior to reversal.

4. In apparatus 7 for reversing the direction of rotation of internal combustion one gines, the. combination with a liquid fuel supply pump and pumpplunger, of means for imparting a normal running stroke to the pumpplunger, means for impartinga reversing stroke to the pump plunger, means for preventing the injection of the fuel supplied by the normal running stroke of the pump plunger into the engine cylinder in order to reduce the engine speed prior to reversal, means dependent on the consequent reduction of speed for operating a reversing stroke of the pump plunger and for rendering inoperative said injection preventing means, and means dependent upon the reversal being effected for'again caus-f 111g the normal running operation of the pump.

5. Apparatus for reversing the direction of rotation of multi-cylinder internal combustion engines, comprising the combination with a liquid fuel supply pump and pump plunger for each cylinder, of means for imparting a normal'running stroke to each fuel pump plunger, means for imparting a reversing stroke to a pump plunger, a distributing. valvecasing for controlling the communication of the fuel pump with the respective engine cylinders,.a connecting pipe from the delivery side of each pump to the said valve casing, a connection'from the said casing to thecombustion chamber of each cylinder, a valve in said casing nor anally opening the communication between:

each fuel pump and a plurality of cylinders, means for preventing the injection of the fuel supply by the normal running strokes of the pump plungers into the engine cylinders in order to reduce the engine speed prior to reversal, a device actuated by the reduction of speed for renderinginoperative said injection-preventing means and for operating a reversing stroke of the reversing pump plunger, a connection from said device to the said distributing valve to move the valve to close the communication beoted lever for lifting the suction valve of the pump from its seat to prevent the injection of fuel supplied by the pump into the engine cylinder in order to reduce the engine speed'prior to reversal, means for operating said lever at will from a moving part of the engine when it is desired to effect the reversal. An inertia device acted upon by the pump-operating means, a connection from said lever to the inertia device normally restraining the action of the lat ter, a member adapted to be actuated by the inertia device when the latter is released, by the operation of the said lever for effecting reversal and When the speed of the en-- gine is sufficiently reduced a connection actuated by said member to operate a re versing' stroke f the fuel pump plunger, another connection actuated by Said member :ior returning said pivoted lever toits normal position to allow the suction valve of the pump to return to its seat to resume normal running, and means for returning the operating parts to running position after reversal. i

name to this specification.

HERBERT BROOKS. 

